


Enough

by Gayest_Disney_King_Ever



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Best french friend, I really just love John Laurens, I should be studying right now, Moana - Freeform, Modern AU, Most of the characters will show up at some point, Multi, Reader is Alex's sibling, Reader-Insert, don't touch reader's hair, drunk brother and friend, everything is legal in new jersey, hungover brother and friend, just kidding, lafayette is the ultimate wingman, reader can be any gender, rich in-laws
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-09-01 06:53:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8613976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gayest_Disney_King_Ever/pseuds/Gayest_Disney_King_Ever
Summary: You were always good enough. But ever just that: enough.





	1. Enough Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I should be studying, but I got this idea and couldn't help myself. It's late and I haven't even tried to write a full fanfiction in a long time. I have no idea how far this will go, but 'll try to update weekly. Sundays or Mondays, most likely. Comment any suggestions or requests for stories. I hope you enjoy this.

You were always good enough. But ever just that: enough. You couldn’t seem to get past being average. Normal grades, normal life, normal family. Well, normal enough. Your brother was an outlier, that was for sure. Highest grades in his classes, he graduated school as the valedictorian and was currently working on his masters in law and finance. He still couldn't decide whether to go into finances or become a lawyer, so he decided to pursue both. That’s just how smart he was.

Of course, living in his shadow was something you were more than used to. The comments on how different you both were was a part of your daily life. The worst of it was when people questioned why you couldn’t be more like him. Just enough to get good grades and accepted to an okay college and pursue a mediocre career.

It was your senior year of high school and you were preparing for college and life on your own when your brother called.

“Alex?” You asked curiously as you put away some coupons for items you wanted for your future dorm room.

“Hey, Dallas, you’re the best sibling I’ve got; have I told you that recently?” He asked and you could already tell that he was fishing for something.

Humoring your brother, you played along. “No, I, you’re only other sibling have not even heard your voice in several months. To what do I owe the honor of your time, dearest Alexander.” You could hear him snickering at your blunt comment from his end of the line and you couldn't help but crack a small smile.

“My dearest Dallas, you wound me. Tone down the theatrics a bit, why don’t you?”

“I’ll think about it,” you told him jokingly. “Seriously, what do you want?” you finally asked.

Alexander paused for a moment, searching for the words to say. Strange, you thought. Usually he had no trouble finding words. After a brief pause he continued. “I want you to come meet my fiancée. I have a ticket for you to come to Jersey over your next break.” He spoke slowly and carefully. Not knowing how you would react and giving you time to process what he was saying.

“Wait, you’re engaged?” you asked dumbly as it was the first question to come to you. Your dear Alex, who, to your knowledge, had never even had a girlfriend. Thinking back to the paper letters (he insisted on writing bi-weekly) he’d sent you in the past few weeks and he did sound a bit off.

“Yeah,” Alex answered without hesitation. He sounded so sure of himself, it was hard to question him. “I met her three weeks ago an-” okay, it was easy to question him again.

“Have you lost it? Three weeks. You’ve known this chick for three weeks and you’re engaged? Alex, have you thought this through? Do you even know what this means? You’re not even out of college yet!” You scolded him and he remained silent. Something was wrong. You never got to speak for this long without him interrupting you. At this realization, you stopped mid sentence. “Alex, are you okay?”

“I’ve never been better, Dallas,” he said quietly. “I’m in love and she’s all mine now. I just… I want the two most important people in my life to meet. You’ll always be my number one though, I promise.”

He sounded so sincere. How could you doubt him? You felt your chest swell with pride for the brother you loved and admired so much. “I’d love to meet her, Alex. Tell me about her.” You spoke softly, smile widening as he began to speak excitedly about the girl he called Eliza or his love. One day you hoped to find a partner even half as caring as Alex. Eliza sure was a lucky girl, and from the way Alex spoke of her, he was a lucky man.

“You can also meet my friends when you come!” He giddily announced. “We can plan the wedding together, too!” You nodded with a small sound that confirmed you were listening as you lounged in your desk chair. Checking the time you cursed under your breath. Of course Alex heard and got upset. “Where did you learn that word? It’s not polite to use.” He scolded.

“Yeah yeah, I’m seventeen, not ten, Alex.” You grumbled, standing and rushing around the room to gather stuff. “I gotta go, I have lunch plans with some friends. Don’t forget to write!” You didn’t give him a chance to reply as you ended the call and rushed out the door.

 

“So did you get your language buddy yet?” A friend asked as you in Spanish sipped coffee at the local coffee joint. You and your friends from your foreign language courses were all getting together to talk about your language buddies. The basic idea was talking to someone from another country that spoke another language fluently that you could learn from and hypothetically be friends with. It was supposed to be a great learning experience.

“Yeah, we are supposed to Skype tonight actually. I can’t even pronounce their name, so it should be an interesting meeting,” you replied in Spanish like she had. “He’s French, but is supposedly also fluent in Latin.”

A friend across the double whistled to get your attention, “Sounds really cool! My language buddy speaks tons of African languages,” he boasted in Cantonese, causing you to roll your eyes.

You picked up the paper from your straw, rolled it into a ball, and threw it at him. “Enough bragging, dude. You barely speak English.” You retorted in Cantonese right back at him.

The entire table burst out laughing at that and conversations resumed in multiple languages. You sunk into a happy feeling, content that this was enough. However, it would all be ending as everyone went off to different colleges and different careers. When this thought dawned on you, you visibly slumped in your chair, sipping at your drink. No one seemed to notice as the day went on.


	2. Enough Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your language buddy believes you aren't enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These first few chapters are gonna be a little slow. It's mostly establishing introductions and relationships, but I promise it'll pick up soon! Anyways, have a happy Thanksgiving update since I have a ton of time to write over the break. Next update will be Sunday/Monday and from then updates should be weekly.

Why you were going out of your way to impress your language buddy was beyond you. You were dressed neither casually or formally in an outfit you had spent an hour picking out, and you sat in the perfect lighting as you waited in front of your laptop. After an eternity of silence, a ding came from your computer causing you to physically jump before accepting a friend request from TheMarquis.

TheMarquis: Bonjour, are you Dallas?  
[User]: Oui, and you are  
Lafayette?  
TheMarquis: Oui! I would love to speak with you if you’ll have me.  
[User]: I would love that too!

The computer rang as the video call was placed. Your language buddy quickly accepted. You couldn’t help but smile as his face came on your screen. His grin matched your as you looked at the stranger in front of you for a moment.

“Bonjour,” he finally said in a thick french accent, breaking the ice. “I am Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette,” he introduced, though you got lost in the way his long name rolled off his tongue before he even finished. Noticing this, he quickly backtracked. “Most of my friends call me Gilbert or Lafayette though; you can too.”

You smiled your appreciation and nodded. “Nice to meet you, Lafayette. I am Dallas Hamilton, but you can just call me Dallas.” You introduced yourself stiffly, finding yourself nervous in the presence of such a stranger. 

“Well then tell me about yourself, Dallas, I’d love to hear more.” Lafayette practically purred in French, obviously very interested in you. He leaned into his camera waiting patiently for you to continue the conversation.

“Oh, there’s nothing very special about me,” you said quietly. You felt sorry he had such a boring language buddy when he probably had countless stories to tell about life in Europe and how amazing it was.

“Come now, you live all the way in America! There must be some amazing things there!” He prodded. “Besides, I want to know you, Dallas.”

Well how could you deny him with those big eyes? He almost reminded you of Alexander in the sense it seemed he could charm his way into getting whatever he wanted. “Well I guess my family is mostly my brother and I. I’m living with a friend of Alex’s right now and I’m headed off to college next year.” You explained, trying not to bring to much of your past family life into the conversation. It wasn’t exactly a fun topic for first impressions.

“Ah, and where does this friend live?” He questioned, prompting you to continue.

“Virginia. Well, I’m in their summer home anyways. He’s kinda rich. And the president of the United States.” You mumbled the last part hoping he hadn’t heard you.  
“You live with President Washington?!”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his wide-eyed expression. “My brother works with him in the summertime, so when he was looking for a place to drop me off so he could go off to college, this seemed like a safe bet. It’s nice, but I honestly can’t wait to be on my own.”

Lafayette nodded along as he listened to you, soaking in the words you were saying. “Any idea where you want to go?”

You hummed thoughtfully, “I have acceptance letters from several places, but my brother is still trying to pull some strings and get me into Princeton. I’m just not good enough to make the cut.”

Lafayette set a hard glare directed through his screen to you. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Do you even realize you’ve switched between four languages in the seven minutes and forty-three seconds we’ve been talking? Not only that, but you spoke clearly and fluently. I could understand you and in all honesty, I don’t speak half of those languages very well.”

You blinked. Ah yes. You’d both started in English, progressed to Italian and then Spanish, then French and were currently speaking in Portuguese. Sometimes you did get carried away and your mind switched on you. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to,” you mumbled in French.

“No no no, Dallas, you are a genius. Do not be sorry,” he cooed in French right back to you. “I’m sure Princeton would love to have you if only you could show off your talents.”

You blushed at his words. No one had ever even begun to try and build you up to be anymore than you thought of yourself, not even your brother. Maybe you were good enough.

As if reading your mind, Lafayette stilled and quieted down, ready to drop some knowledge. “You know what, Dallas? You’re not enough.” You almost gasped at these words. He’d been so kind before, where had this come from? And just like that, he finished his thought, much to your pleasure, “I didn’t like how you used that word. I would say you are exceptional, Dallas.”

He raised a nonexistent drink and you mirrored him, toasting to the web camera happily then laughing to yourselves until you both were out of breath. “It’s about time for me to go, Dallas. I look forward to our next meeting and meeting you when I transfer to Princeton next year in the foreign exchange student program.” He ended the call with a wink before you could even retaliate.

You knew nothing of this man other than his very long name, he was French, and his Italian was shaky. You suddenly couldn’t wait until your next video chat. Maybe signing up for this program would be more fun than you originally thought.

 

Over the next several weeks you had a weekly meeting with Lafayette, slowly learning more about him. His birthday was September 6th. His favorite color was blue, like the sky. He loved dogs so much he had several different breeds. You knew each and every one of the pets soon enough and loved them almost as dearly as he did. You talked about how dreadful all of the students at your school were and how none were interesting. He spoke of having his eye on a special someone in his hometown and he wanted to move back after he graduated and hopefully she’d still be waiting. Not only did you make what you hoped would be a life long friend, but also your conversational languages were improving rapidly and you were slowly becoming more aware of how to keep from switching languages in the middle of a conversation. Even the conversation you were having at the moment.

After a brief conversation in Spanish over how your weeks had gone, you blurted out something that had been on your mind all week. “Hey, I’m actually traveling to Princeton next week. I’m visiting my brother. I know it’s short notice and all, but maybe you could tell your uncle you’d like to see the campus and come visit. I’d love for Alex to meet you.”  
He hummed, mulling over the idea before breaking out into a grin. “I would love that. Maybe I can call whatever airline you are using and get your seat upgraded to first class?” he suggested, but you only rolled your eyes.

After inheriting the fortunes of his parents and other various relatives that had passed away, Lafayette didn’t even know what to do with the majority of his money and was constantly trying to help you out. After telling him about how Alexander always wrote you physical letters, he got excited and demanded to have your address. Now, every Wednesday, you received a letter written in his lovely penmanship and a small trinket from France that made him think of you. You returned the favor when you could. He also tried to get you to fly all the way to France with him, but your schedule simply didn’t work out enough to allow such a trip.

“Lafayette, I think I can handle the trip. It’s not even a long flight. Just barely an hour. All I need is to plug in my headphones, listen to my music, and sleep it out.” You sighed at the idea of getting to take a small nap and wake up refreshed in time to meet your brother and possibly even Lafayette.

“Are you sure? It’s no trouble at all,” he pouts. You smiled softly. All he wanted was to be of help, but you couldn’t depend on him for giving you a life of luxury. He had his own life to lead as well as you.

“I promise I’ll be fine, Laf,” you assured him with a small smile.

At his next words, your smile faded. “You know, you said this would be the week you’d tell me about your family,” he said quietly. You hadn’t forgotten your promise, but you’d been praying that he did.

“Buckle up, Marquis, it’s a long one,” you sighed, reaching for your coffee that would drive you to finish studying for finals before winter break. The scent and taste may also soothe you enough to get through the story you loathed telling. However, after Lafayette trusted you with his story, you could certainly trust him with this, you were sure. At least you hoped so. He listened attentively through the screen, making himself comfortable on his bed he was laying on as you spoke. “I was really little when most of this happened, so I depend on Alex for most of the story, usually. It started off in the Caribbean where we were born and grew up. I was about six when dad finally left. I honestly don’t remember him well,” you admitted, leaning back in your chair with a deep sigh. It honestly felt almost liberating to talk about it. “A couple years later, I remember Alex was really sick. I was too worried about him to know that mom had caught the same thing and before I knew it she was gone.”

Funny enough that talking about the woman that raised you wasn’t what choked you up, but rather your cousin. “Peter. My cousin, Peter, took us in. He took care of us. However, he had some devils singing in his ear that he never told us about and he did away with himself.” You were almost at tears and he looked the same, but it was too late to stop now. “James Jr… Oh, I never told you about Jimmy. He was our older brother. He left after Peter died and we haven’t heard from him since. It was hard- losing a brother.” You sighed and shook your head, wiping away some stray tears, trying to catch where you were. “Then the hurricane and brother’s brilliant writing helped us get out and after a lot of struggling, here we are three- no, four- years later.”

You wrapped your story up as quickly as you could. There wasn’t much more to say on the subject as you sat there in silence with him. He took in your story and flashed you a sad smile. “Dallas, the fact that you’re alive is a miracle. You really are amazing. You and your brother both.”

You were close to crying again at his words, but instead you flashed him the biggest smile you could muster. “Alex is going to love you, Laf. I’m so glad I got to meet you.”

He laughed at this, “Don’t go getting sentimental on me,” he jokingly chided in French causing you to roll your eyes and fall into laughter with him. Once the giggles and chortles died down, you both sat in a comfortable silence for awhile until you were about to fall asleep. The coffee wasn’t working and you were positive studying right now would go in one ear and out the other. 

“Laf, I think I’m turning in for a nap and it’s almost time for you to go to bed anyways,” you yawned to him, covering your mouth and rubbing at your eyes.

“Very well then. We can talk more about the trip later. Sleep well,” he sang softly before ending the call before you could even tell him goodnight. At least you didn’t bicker like a couple over who should hang up first. The thought brought a sleepy smile to your lips as you went to put your coffee in the microwave to keep it warm until you woke up and hunkered down for a study session.

Once your bed was made down and the pillows fluffed, you looked at the picture of your brother on your bedside stand and silently wondered how much he had changed since getting engaged before you crawled under the warm blankets and quickly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this is a Laurens x Reader. What it's going to boil down to is that Lafayette is going to be the best wing-man ever.


	3. Enough Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are you enough to make a friend out of Laurens?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for almost 150 hits! Also I'm really pleased with this chapter. It is almost 2,800 words and that's practically a record for me. Although the end is a little rushed since I was having trouble wrapping this chapter up. I hope you enjoy finally meeting John and I hope you look forward to next week's update! Also check out my new story, a story for requests for one-shots that I receive.

Waking up as the plane hit an air pocket and jostled you, you stretched out of your small plane seat and yawned, taking a moment to recall where you were and what you were doing. You were about to touch down in New Jersey where your brother was waiting for you in the airport- and Lafayette too. You follow the standard procedure. Honestly, the landing and exiting of the plane went by in a blur and you find yourself almost skipping with excitement. Today was going to be wonderful, you had this feeling in your gut.

Walking into the terminal, you looked for a short, mad, and likely sleep deprived, but happy brother. You were surprised to see a young man holding up a sign for Hamilton. You blinked, taking in his long, curly hair tied back in a ponytail and his nervous eyes. He caught you staring and tilted his head, immediately rushing over to you.

“Pardon me, but are you [Y/N] Hamilton?” He asked in broken French.

“Yes, I’m looking for my brother, Alexander,” you replied in French, but he only seemed lost. “Do you speak French?” you asked in English.  
He let put a long sigh of relief. “Your brother told me you only spoke French, no English.” He cursed under his breath and shook his head, putting the sign down by his side. “I’m sorry. Anyways, your brother is on an impromptu date with Eliza, so I’ll be escorting you to his apartment.”  
You nodded in understanding. “Well give me a moment, my friend is also coming with us. I didn’t tell my brother since I wanted to surprise him. We need to pick him up at his terminal.” You got out your phone to see what terminal he had landed in when you smacked your own forehead. “How rude of me, I never asked for your name.”

“John Laurens, at your service,” he introduced with a charming smile and a low bow, causing you to giggle. You nodded your appreciation before taking his arm and pulling him and your luggage in the direction of Lafayette. “So who is this friend and how do you know him?” John asked.

“We are both in a language buddy program. We frequently talk to each other in foreign languages,” you explained quickly, mostly focusing on the task of finding your BFF- Best French Friend as you liked to call him. He had gotten a laugh out of that.

Finally arriving at the terminal in one piece, you looked around. It didn’t help that you had no idea how tall he was or much of what he looked like outside of the boundaries of your computer screen. You looked down to your phone buzzing with a picture of you from behind sent by Lafayette. John, who had been looking of your shoulder turned around with you to look for the Frenchman.

What you didn’t expect was to turn around and walk straight into someone’s chest. Looking for a face to apologize to, your eyes widened as you met a familiar face you had known for almost two months now. “Lafayette!” you cried out, embracing the Frenchman as he cooed in French to you over how happy he was to finally meet you face to face.

“[Y/N], I couldn’t help myself! When I saw it, I thought of you.” you were about to deny any present he had to offer before he pulled out a French history book. Your eyes widened and your hands reached out to wrap around the bound pages of knowledge. Few people knew of your previous desires to become a history teacher before moving into languages and Lafayette was one of them.

“Thank you so much. I’m sorry, I don’t have anything for you,” you sheepishly gave him a hug after setting your new book down.

“How about a kiss for good luck in America?” he asked jokingly, surprised when you pecked him on the cheek. After hearing an uncomfortable cough from John, you turned around and noticed you’d completely forgotten about him. Lafayette noticed him as well and walked over to shake his hand. “Bonjour Monsieur Hamilton. I am Lafayette, a friend of your sibling’s.” He introduced himself formally with a firm handshake. It took all you had to not come undone on the spot.

“Laf, this is actually one of Alex’s friends. Monsieur Laurens.” You introduced John to Lafayette and he blushed in embarrassment.

“I am so sorry. I just assumed that you were Alexander,” he mumbled apologetically, earning a laugh from John.

“John Laurens, a friend of Alexander’s,” he introduced himself with the same firm shake Lafayette had greeted him with. “I’ll be taking you both to Alexander’s apartment. He should be home by the time we arrive. Although I don’t know if there will be enough room for two guests,” he admitted.

“No problem at all, mon amie- that means ‘my friend’ by the way. I have a hotel nearby booked for the break. I’d rather not overstay my welcome,” Lafayette explained, earning a punch from you.

“You are more than welcome, Laf. I know Alex is going to love you and I’m sure everyone else will too!” you chided playfully.

“About bed arrangements, you’ll actually be staying in my room.” John announced, smoothly taking your arm as he began to lead you and Lafayette out of the airport rather than just standing around. Alex would not be happy if this took too long.

“That’s alright with me so long as you don’t intend to sleep on the couch or something. I’m not kicking anyone out of their bed.” You told him with a wag of your finger, allowing him to lead yourself and Lafayette away, the both of you also towing your luggage.

Laurens got a kick out of that. “Oh I’m not giving up my water bed for any man, woman, child, or alien. I have a futon in my room that you can sleep on.” You laughed right along with him, even Lafayette smiled at the humor.

“How chivalrous,” you observed, wiping away a tear that got out in your fit of laughter.

“Chivalry is dead, my dear,” he reminded rather pointedly, enjoying making you laugh.

You continued to laugh as the conversation continued and you slowly turned to Lafayette and slowly mouthed “Why am I laughing? This isn’t even funny!” to which he only shrugged and made a heart with his hands, directing it at Laurens and yourself.

Finding no help in Lafayette, you continued speaking to John. “Then I suppose I can’t count on you to be my knight in shining armor.”

You found yourselves at the car he unlocked and after putting your bags in the trunk, he opened the passenger door for you with a shrug, “Nah, I’m more of a superhero. Like Batman or something. Except I’d be Turtleman.” He proclaimed, allowing you to sit in the car before he shut the door. Lafayette crawled into the backseat on his own with his bags still on him and Laurens took the driver’s seat.

Once Laurens was seated and preparing to go back to Alex’s apartment, you couldn’t help but pick up where the conversation had left you. “Turtleman? Why turtles?”  
“Because turtles are cool,” he explained with his tongue stuck out at you. “I’m studying to become a marine biologist and turtles are the gods of the sea!” Hearing him speak so passionately about something brought a goofy grin to your face.

Meanwhile, you didn’t notice Lafayette practically having a fit in the backseat before getting on his phone for a moment. Hardly a second later your phone dinged with a Skype notification from TheMarquis. You slyly looked at him before checking the message.

TheMarquis: You like him.

The blunt message took you back for a moment before glaring at Lafayette who simply grinned innocently at you.  
“Everything alright?” John asked with obvious concern as he noticed that you seemed upset. “Did you get a bad message?”  
“Nah. just a wrong number,” you told him, smiling at how caring he seemed before you turned back to your Skype to type up a reply to Lafayette.

[User]: I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t even know this guy existed before today.  
TheMarquis: That doesn’t mean he’s not hot.

You repressed a groan as your cheeks lit up and Lafayette practically giggled in amusement from the back seat as his comment was more or less confirmed.

 

After a not very long, but still awkward drive, John pulled up at an apartment complex near the university. He parked and everyone quickly dispersed from the vehicle so he could lock it and lead you and Lafayette to the apartment he and Alex shared with friends. Unfortunately, it was quite the climb of stairs with so many bags to carry since the elevator no longer worked apparently. Luckily, John helped you and Lafayette out as much as he could. You faintly remembered a letter from Alex about getting into a skirmish with someone that worked for the university that caused the elevator to stop working. Who was it? The bursar maybe?

You were snapped out of your thoughts when John opened the door to the apartment and held it open for Lafayette and yourself. You quietly thanked him as you entered the entryway. With no more than a quick glance it reminded you of Alex’s room. Mostly bare walls with paper and pencils and pens scattered around the place. Some held drawings of turtles and other sea life- these must belong to John. Other papers held drawings of outfits. Most of these were crumpled, but still gorgeous; whoever drew these must aspire to be a clothing designer. Finally, you noticed your brother’s handwriting on other stray papers and dropped your bags to pick one up. A letter written to Eliza that had never been sent. You giggled to yourself as he read it. Who would have known that your brother could be so charming when he wanted.

John and Lafayette looked over your shoulder, also laughing at the eloquent language used in the letter. You discarded the paper back to the floor humming as you imagined you’d help tidy up before leaving as you used to when you and Alex lived together. He simply had no skills required for housekeeping and the others living here must not either.

“Sorry for the mess,” John apologized as if he’d read your mind. “Everyone’s been super busy what with the wedding and everything. Especially Hercules. He’s designing the wedding dress and he’s been stressed trying to get it just right.”

You hummed in thought. “Hercules?” you asked, picking up some of the crumpled dress designs scattered around. They were gorgeous, every single one seemed perfect. Hercules must be very talented. Of course, having never heard his or John’s names before, you realized Alex must never write about them for some reason. You’d have to ask him about that later.

“Yeah, he’s a design major at a nearby university. Alex and I picked him up when he got in trouble at a local bar.” John explained, taking his coat off and hanging it in the entryway closet. You and Lafayette did the same before continuing into the main area.

A dining room, living room, and kitchen space. The plan in this apartment seemed very open as you looked around. The first part closest to the entrance hall was the living room. Humming as you entered walked around the couch and leaned on the back of it to see what was playing on the TV. Some cooking show you’d never cared to watch before. The couch faced the TV and off to your left of the couch was a love seat and there were two recliners to the right. This area was most likely designed to entertain when parties were held. Between the couch and TV was a coffee table covered in remotes, video games, empty and knocked over coffee cups and mugs, and even more papers.

Past the recliners in the dining room was even messier if that were possible. Bits of food and even more coffee was scatter along the table. Not an inch of the tabletop was visible underneath the coffee stained papers. You laughed and brushed some papers away to reveal the dark wooden surface.

The kitchen wasn’t a mess at all, to your surprise. Although it was covered in a layer of dust that told you they didn’t use it very often. Except for the island where the coffee maker stood proudly. It was well worn and looked like it had been through its fair share of brews. Some things never seemed to change with Alex and you were happy he’d found friends to pry him out of his room every once in awhile instead of obsessing over classes and writing.

The sound of the door opening alerted you to more people entering the apartment. “Hello, anyone here?” a familiar voice called out and your heart drummed against your chest in excitement. You hadn’t seen your brother in months and the thought that he was suddenly so close paralyzed you. He rounded the corner into the living area and your body began running towards him until you had him wrapped in a hug. He laughed as he returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around you as if he didn’t want to let go. “Hey,” he said simply. Funny how he fumbled with or was at a lack of words when he was emotional.

You loosened your grip and took a step back to see a short, stressed, tired, but very happy brother. “Hey Alex, I really missed you,” you confessed as if it weren’t obvious enough.

“I missed you too,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m glad you could make it. Eliza and everyone’s been so excited to meet you!”

The sound of Lafayette and John horsing around in the background brought you back to earth and you beamed brightly. “Well I’ve got someone for you to meet as well!” you announced proudly, grabbing Lafayette’s conveniently close arm and literally dragging him into the conversation. “This is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, but I usually just call him Laf. He’s my language buddy from France and he’s going to attend Princeton after he graduates.”

When Lafayette repeated the same words he’d used on John when meeting him, you realized he must’ve been practicing the words to make a good impression. He must have practiced almost as much as you had with saying his name. “Bonjour Monsieur Hamilton. I am Lafayette, a friend of your sibling’s.” He introduced himself formally with a firm handshake.

Alex smiled, quite delighted with Lafayette, just as you’d anticipated. “Alexander Hamilton. I sincerely hope that [Y/N] hasn’t talked your ear off yet.” your brother joked in good nature, bringing a laugh out of Lafayette.

“Well that is the point of our language program, no?” Lafayette responded, continuing the conversation.

As your brother and BFF spoke, you noticed John’s discomfort and realized the three of you had been speaking in French. “I’m sorry,” you apologized upon this realization and turned to face John. “All that really happened was a few introductions and Alex making fun of me for talking too much,” you explained, hoping that would ease him.

John visibly relaxed and nodded in understanding. “It’s my fault. I flunked out of my French class in high school and ended up taking Spanish. Not that I remember any of it now. Languages were never really my thing.”

“I see,” you responded simply with a nod similar to his own. “Everyone has their own things. Alex just happens to have a lot of things.” You glanced at Alex and saw him passionately talking to Lafayette about his studies. This brought a smile to your face.

Little did you see your smile brought a grin to the face of John Laurens and he had no clue why.

“Hey, everyone needs to get ready! We’re going out to dinner with the Schuyler's and Hercules and we need to be at the restaurant within the hour,” Alex finally announced in English.

And just like that, everyone sprang into motion. You and Lafayette retrieved your bags, going to change into nicer clothes to make a good impression on your future in-laws. Having family again seemed so foreign it was hard to get out of your mind as you walked out of the bathroom to see the boys all wearing button up shirts and slacks. Suddenly you felt under dressed, but Alex assured you looked fine and in the blink of an eye, you were all piled into Laurens’ car and headed to the restaurant.


	4. Enough Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Schuyler's wonder if you're enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. The only excuse I have is that final weeks are upon me and I've been distracted. The only thing I have to point out about the chapter is I gave the reader my overeation to people touhing my hair. Enjoy this update and I'll try to have another next week.

Lafayette got the front since he was too excited to experience the American scenery that John saw every day and you were too worried to care for. So while he sat up front with Alex driving, you dealt with your own problems in the back seat and John stared out the window like he was in a music video listening to a sad song.

You fretted the entire way to the restaurant. You had your camera in selfie mode to make sure your hair looked just right and in the end you hated it more than you had at the beginning. John hummed and turned his attention away from his window and instead grabbed your phone, setting it off to the side. He reached up to help with your hair and you screamed, ducking away from his hands.

Alex, not expecting to hear his sibling screaming in the back seat, swerved slightly before regaining control of the car and looking back into the back seat where you and John sat. Lafayette followed his gaze to look at you both curiously. Alex saw the situation with you grasping John’s hand in a grip that could rip the appendage right out of the socket. Alex laughed at he sight of a clearly frightened John and turned his attention back to the road ahead of him.

“Dallas has a thing about people touching their hair,” your brother explained for you. You literally threw Lauren’s hand away from you in disgust. You calmly fixed your hair yourself and remained silent while Laurens looked like a kicked puppy. You almost felt bad for him. Almost.

“I’m really sorry, Dallas," he said quietly, keeping his distance from you.

“It’s no problem,” you mumbled, face flushed with embarrassment. “I just overreact. I don’t know why, but I can’t stand people touching my hair, especially all unexpected like that.”

“I understand,” he nodded. “May I please fix your hair?” he asked politely. You couldn’t say no to that face. You reluctantly nodded and he reached up, rearranging your hair correctly. You flinched at his touch, but otherwise stayed still and focused on taking deep breaths. When he was done, you breathed a sigh of relief and snatched your phone back and looked at yourself in the camera.

“Thanks,” you mumbled. He’d done a far better job than you. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“Well I had four younger siblings and mom died fairly early, so I took care of the girls and dad took care of the boys,” he explained. Oh, could he get any more perfect?

Lafayette must’ve seen the look on your face because when you glanced at him, he winked at you and your face lit up. Thank goodness John was too busy messing around with his own long and wonderfully curly hair to notice.

By the time the four of you arrived, you were standing outside of the restaurant as a nervous and babbling wreck. When you got nervous, you babbled about anything and everything. The current topic was how much you hated your Spanish teacher and you were describing this in Portuguese much to Lafayette’s displeasure. It was a language he had a significantly difficult hard time with. He tried translating at first, but eventually gave up since whatever you were saying didn’t make much sense to you either. The cause was probably because every few words were in a different language and you just kept switching it up without realizing.

Alexander had finally had enough when he grabbed your shoulder and placed his hand over your mouth, effectively shutting you up. “Jesus, Dallas you talk more than me and that is not a good thing. Just take a deep breath and know that you are going to be fine. They are filthy rich, yes, but they are also very easy going people and they will love you almost as much as I do.”

Alex had effectively calmed you down. How did he do that? He always knew exactly what to say. You removed his hand from your mouth and give him a big hug after taking the deep breath he suggested. “Thanks, Alex,” you thank happily. He smiled and wrapped his arms around you as well for a moment, but pulled away before Lafayette and John became uncomfortable. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Alex nodded and took your hand, leading you into the restaurant while John and Laf trailed behind like lost puppies. Stepping in, you realized the Schuylers must really be rich since you’d never get to eat in a place like this on your own. The ceilings looked like they were miles high with equally grand chandeliers. The fine carpet and tablecloths would probably put you to sleep. Everyone was dressed in their evening best and you felt severely under dressed.

Alex literally pulled you back to reality when he jerked you over to a table that was already mostly full of people. Three girls sat next to each other, a man sat at the head of the table, and another man sat away from the others. You were formally introduced to everyone by your brother, who knew you didn’t trust your words at the moment.

At the head of the table sat Philip Schuyler, an older man that was dressed finely and had a kind smile. Even if he was a tad bit intimidating, you shook his hand firmly. “I look forward to welcoming you into the family. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” he informed you politely with a deep and boisterous voice.

Next was Angelica Schuyler, the oldest of the Schuyler sisters, who looked more than a little malcontent during your meeting her. She had dark skin and dark, curly hair. Her dark eyes scanned you apprehensively at first, but you hoped she’d grow to like you more after getting to know one another. “Welcome to the family,” she greeted curtly before returning her attention back to the menu in her hands.

After Angelica came Peggy. She was such a sweetheart and you rather enjoyed her presence. The wedding had her nervous, she’d confess after the dinner, showing that she trusted you. For now, you noticed she looked very similar to Angelica albeit with a touch of lighter skin. “I can’t wait to spend more time with you,” she admitted excitedly wrapping you up in a hug before returning to her seat beside Angelica.

You moved to meet the last sister who you could only assume was Eliza before Alex jerked you over to the man that had arrived earlier. “Best for last,” he explained before introducing you to Hercules. Hercules as big and beefy, but hardly in an unattractive way. To think this man had drawn all of the beautiful designs you found scattered around the apartment excited you. You complimented his designs and he shied away. “Thank you very much,” he said quietly with a dark blush. You decided to dub him as tall, dark, and extremely handsome.

Finally you got to meet your future sister-in-law and boy was she stunning. Eliza had much lighter skin than her sisters, but the same very long, and dark hair. You shook her hand firmly, at a loss of words. Boy was Alex lucky. You already liked her. “Thank you for coming. I’ve heard so much about you and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“You too,” you mumble shyly in English, thankful your tongue hadn’t failed you. She merely smiled and wrapped you in a hug before pulling Alex down beside her. You sat across from him in between John and Lafayette who had been introducing himself as your friend from France. After being seated, you mostly hid behind your menu, only replying to conversations when someone directly spoke to you. So much for first impressions, everyone probably thought you were a blubbering idiot.

  
The meals came out soon after you’d ordered. Everything came in smaller portions than you were used to, but the taste made up for it all. The meal was more of a blur than you’d care to admit, but somehow Alex and Hercules ended up extremely drunk and so you had to practically carry your brother outside and to the car with John’s help while Lafayette and, surprisingly, Eliza carried Hercules. The three of you stuffed the drunks into the back seat with Lafayette to take care of them in case either got sick. You bid farewell to the Schuylers and took your place in the passenger side with John driving.

Getting the boys to bed after getting back to the apartment was a great endeavor, but after it was done, you sat down with Lafayette and John on the couch and watched a movie. You laid your head in John’s lap while your legs crossed over Lafayette’s lap. You all shared a batch op popcorn that rested over your stomach that was now bare, in favor of resting in your pyjamas that just happened to show the skin of your stomach and legs. Oh well, you didn’t quite mind as everyone’s attention focused on Moana.

You don’t know how long you laid like that before drifting off to the sound of the end of the movie, but it was nice and comforting to be in the presence of these two men.


	5. Enough Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last night was more than enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies. I spent most of the last few weeks studying and memorizing my lines over break for the play that I'm in. This chapter is a short bridge to some more plot in next week's chapter. Things will pick up in a few more chapters, hopefully. I have things more or less planned though the first and second books of this series (yes, it will be a series.) All that's left is to actually write the chapters which is the hard part.

Waking up to the sound of a crash, you bolted upright into the forehead of John who had been hovering over you. You covered your head as if that would help the pain setting in after letting out a squeaky yelp. John looked equally in pain as he recoiled and rubbed at his forehead. Lafayette giggled from further down the couch and you kicked at him earning a yelp to rival your own, which brought a short and triumphant laugh from you. Finally, you rose from the couch to look for the source of the crash that had woken you up.

The source was not difficult to find since in the kitchen, it seemed Alex had tripped over Hercules in attempt to reach the hangover remedy John had whipped up and left out for the two last night. You couldn’t help but attempt to muffle a laugh at the two rolling on the floor in agony. So this was how your brother lived his life away from you. It was pretty mundane although you didn’t know what to expect.

Finally, the two of them picked themselves up and noticed you’d entered the area. “Morning [Y/N],” your brother greeted as he poured a glass of John’s concoction. God, it looked absolutely revolting. The way that Alex guzzled it down informed you that he had drank more than his fair share of the brew. Hercules nodded and grunted in acknowledging you before following in Alex’s footsteps of downing the elixir.

“How’d ya sleep?” you ask with a smirk over your lips, strolling over to the coffee machine to make your own secret key to a good morning after such a long night.

“Meh,” Alex shrugged, hardly able to strain together a coherent thought.

Hercules only made a sound you simply didn’t know how to interpret. You shrugged to their responses.

“John, Laf, either of you want coffee?” you asked politely. Both gave you some form of affirmations, so you went hunting for three (clean) mugs. The task was harder than you’d expect since the three occupants of the apartment didn’t seem to have any concept of housekeeping. Nearly an hour later, at least that’s how it felt, you sat at the table with everyone talking about last night and other random stuff before the conversation became more directed to you and Lafayette.

“So how did you love birds meet?” Hercules cooed at the two of you. You hoped for his sake that Lafayette’s face wasn’t as red as yours in that minute as you nearly spat your coffee out. That would have been such a waste if you hadn’t swallowed at the last minute.

“Uhm, just friends. BFFs if you will as Laf is my Best French Friend,” you explained pointedly. “We met through this online language program that gives students the opportunities to talk to people that are learning or are fluent in different languages.”

“Oui. We Skyped for the first time a few months ago. When [Y/N] discovered that I would be attending Princeton after I graduate in France, they invited me here.”

And just like that the conversation turned to France and what it was like. You sat there watching the others talk and couldn’t help but feel like a puzzle piece fell into place with Lafayette’s arrival. Perhaps he would befriend your brother and his group. That would be wonderful, you thought.

Later that morning, the conversation was still going strong, though now it was in the living area. You laid just as you had last night with your head in John’s lap and your feet propped up on Lafayette's lap. “So then he was li-” you paused in the middle of a funny story when you got a text. “Hold on a sec,” you told them as you checked and saw that you had been added into a group chat with the Schuyler Sisters.

 

**Peggy S: Wanna go shopping w us? We need outfits for the Christmas Ball dad’s throwing and u r invited.**

 

“Hey, what’s the Christmas Ball?” you asked your brother and his friends (although they were now your friends too.)

“Oh yeah, Mr. Schuyler is throwing another ball. Liza and I met at the fall one that he threw. It’s just a super fancy party that Herc, John and I crashed.” Alex explained to you as if it weren’t a big deal. “Why do you ask?”

“Our future sister-in-laws and your future wife have invited me shopping since I’m invited to the ball apparently,” you explained, looking over the text again to ensure you hadn’t missed anything. “Oh well that’s good news. You should go bond,” your brother reasoned with a shooing motion. “As much as I’ve missed you, I have all break to spend with my favorite sibling.”

“I guess the other one set the bar pretty low,” you mumbled before groaning. “But that means I have to get up and get dressed.”

You didn’t notice the glance that Laf and John exchanged. Of course in the next split second you had been dumped onto the floor by the two scheming boys with a yelp. You glared at them and they smiled innocently down to you. “Well we got you up, now you just have to get dressed.” John told you with a maniac’s grin. You gave a small huff and went to get your bag from his room and some clothes to change into.

“Thanks guys. I’d like for [Y/N] to get to know the sisters before the wedding.”

Alex spoke to John and Lafayette nodded to his appreciation.

“We could tell they should go,” Lafayette explained, turning so that he could lean against the arm of the couch. He yawned tiredly and stretched his legs out as well.

“You didn’t sleep well last night, did you?” John asked your friend who replied with a shake of the head. “After [Y/N] leaves you can go lay down in my room, kay?”

“Merci, mon ami,” Lafayette thanked after raising a hand to yawn again. He leaned heavily on the arm of the couch until you prepared to leave.

“Peggy’s outside so I’m going now,” you announced, re-entering the living area. Hugs were passed around from your brother, Hercules, John, and finally Lafayette.

“Enjoy your trip, here’s some cash,” Your brother encouraged as he handed you an envelope of money. You nodded and gave him a final hug before giving a general goodbye to everyone and receiving a chorus of farewells from your friends.

“Wait,” Hercules stopped you before you made it out the door. “What was he like?”

You stood in confusion for a beat before you recalled the story you were telling earlier. “Oh, he was like ‘I may not be your father, but I’m the president of the fucking USA so yes, you will listen to me.’ So that’s how I ended up going with him to the UN to study the professional translators.”

With your story told and Peggy waiting outside, you wished everyone a goodbye again and walked out the door to their chorus of good luck wishes yet again.


	6. Enough Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our lovely reader goes on a shopping trip with the Schuyler Sisters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't get into details as to why it's been six months since I've updated, but to sum it up: depression. Depression comes and goes in my life and tends to stress me out and bring a lack of motivation to mask my creativity. That's why I've been staring at a half-finished chapter for so long until I finally had the motivation to finish and proof read it! So, here you are! The next chapter of Enough. Also, I have settled on 22 planned chapters for this story and probably a second book afterwards. Thank you for following this story and keeping up with it if you've been waiting. Also, don't get your hopes up for scheduled updates anytime soon.

“So I was thinking of a yellow dress to wear to the reception since during the service I’m wearing blue as Lizzie’s bridesmaid. Angie is wearing a peach color at the reception. What were you thinking of? Personally, I think [Color] would really bring out your eyes and compliment your skin tone.”

Dear Lord could this girl talk. Margarita Schuyler was about the most talkative person you’d ever met aside from your brother who couldn’t keep his mouth shut even if the world was ending.

“I dunno. What is Alex wearing? I usually match with him at parties in Virginia.” You responded only half-heartedly paying attention to your future sister-in-law as your mind wandered. You thought of everything from leaving Laf with your brother and his friends to what the hell you were going to do to get into Princeton. You even thought of the wedding and what it would be like. Probably huge and fancy with a ton of wasted money. Well, the memories wouldn’t be a waste at least. As someone coming from almost nothing, you didn’t see the sense in a huge wedding.

“He’s already matching with Lizzie. Duh.” Peggy rolled her eyes and you felt like an idiot.

“Maybe I’ll match the Washingtons then. They’re probably going since they’re practically the only family Alex and I have.”

“I think you all would look great in gold.”

“Pegs, you just want us to match you in yellow, don’t you.”

“Maybe…” she replied shyly after a pause.

“How about some black slacks and dress shoes, a white blouse, and I’ll wear a golden tie. That good enough for ya?”

Oh you couldn’t help but smile with her as a grin broke out across Peggy’s face.

 

“So…” Angelica tried to stir up conversation as you all sat in the car in silence, staring out the window at a nearby field. Everyone groaned at the sound of her voice, another reminder that this indeed was real and that the car had indeed broken down in the middle of nowhere.

“Any luck getting service?” You asked no one in particular. With the response of another groan, you had your answer.

You looked at your watch to catch the time. Had it really only been fifteen minutes since the car broke down? Time seemed to tick by as if every second were an hour.

“Well, let’s get walking,” Eliza finally announced, opening her driver’s side door and stepping out of the vehicle. Angelica rolled her eyes in front of you and stepped out on the passenger’s side to let yourself and Peggy out of the back seat.

“So which way to the closest town?” Peggy asked curiously, looking around for any sign of how far everyone would have to walk.

“Ten miles north. With any luck we may be able to catch a ride there though, or maybe find a gas station. Oh God, Alex is going to go to town when he finds out about this,” you grumbled under your breath. It was freezing cold, so you wrapped your jacket as tightly as you could around yourself without strangling yourself. The sisters did so similarly; everyone bundled up to prepare for the long and cold trip ahead.

Why couldn’t Eliza be sane and actually shop in town? Instead, she insisted on driving several cities away for some mall she’d wanted to check out. In freezing cold weather too, to boot. You regretted coming already, but you couldn’t let your brother down as you were determined to bond with your future sister-in-laws.

“Wow, I’ve never had a sister before,” you accidentally say out loud in the midst of your thoughts, gaining the Schuylers’ attention.

You didn’t see the way the sisters’ eyes lit up at your statement. Even Angelica had a small smile on her lips as she looked at your mostly frozen form before she casually caught up to you and gave you a side hug. “Well, now you do and you’re gonna be stuck with us sooner or later.”

Peggy came up on your other side, giving you a hug similar to Angelica’s. “Yep, You went from zero to three sisters real quick, so good luck adjusting,” she teased as she stuck her tongue out a bit.

Eliza shoved her sisters out of the way before she wrapped her arms around you in a full hug. You could feel her shaking as you returned the hug and rubbed her back comfortingly. “I know Alex sprung this all on you and you’re still getting to know us and you’re still figuring out how you feel about this, but I’m so happy you gave us a chance and I want to be the best sister in the world so thank you,” she paused in her sobbed out ramblings to take a breath and lean back to look at you. “Thank you so much for giving us a chance because I really, truly love your brother with all my heart. He makes me weak in the knees and I just feel so...so…” she struggled for the word for another moment as her sobs died down. “So helpless.”

You stood for a moment in shock at the outburst before clutching so closely to Eliza as you let your own spontaneous sobs out in a choked manner. “Please take good care of my brother. I love him and I know you make him feel helpless too. Oh please don’t break his heart.”

“I couldn’t even if I tried,” she replied with a short laugh as she pulled back to wipe her eyes. Her face was red from crying as well as from the cold. A shiver came up your spine  as you remember your position.

“Come on, I think I see a gas station up ahead,” you tell her through your recovering sobs. You hadn’t expected to go through so many emotions today. So much for a relaxing shopping trip with Schuylers.

Eliza nodded and took your hand as you traveled with her and the other sisters up to the gas station for some cups of hot chocolate and to call someone for a ride back to Princeton.

 

You collapsed onto the couch as soon as you were back at Alex’s apartment. The fact that John was already lounging on the couch didn't register until he pushed you off of him. You groaned as you hit the ground, but couldn’t find the energy to get back up as your still mostly frozen body gave out on you. You could barely hear a groggy and half-awake John Laurens cursing at being woken up.

Alex and Hercules had the nerve to laugh at the scene which brought Lafayette out of the kitchen to see what was happening. Once he caught wind of the situation, he laughed and called everyone to the dining table for dinner.

As Alex helps you to your seat, you notice the wonderful smells wafting in from the kitchen and your mouth begins to water. “I didn’t know you could cook!” you exclaim happily to your friend.

Lafayette blushes in response with a few whispered thanks in French.

“So, now that the crew’s all here, how was your shopping trip with the Schuylers?” Herc asks with excitement in his eyes.

You laugh at his expression before shrugging. “Not much, a lot of walking and talking. We stopped for a warm drink before we found my the perfect suit. I’m actually looking forward to the ball. Laf is gonna be my plus one too.” You grin at the confused Frenchman.

“Well this is the first I’ve heard of this,” he finally replies much to your pleasure.

“At least I gave you some heads up. Your shopping trip with my future sisters is tomorrow,” you explain, shoveling a helping of glorious food onto your plate before shoveling some down your gullet.

“I did not agree to this.”

“I did not ask you,” you mock him with your mouth full, earning a reprimanding from your brother about manners much to your amusement. “Not a little kid anymore, Alexander,” you remind after swallowing all of your meal. “I’m a big kid now.”

He and the rest of the table got a good laugh at that. Alex and Herc put the plates away to be washed later (probably by you). You stretch, already ready for sweet sleep to embrace you. “Hey, John.” You snap to get his attention from where he’s scrolling on his phone. You resume once he looks up at you. “I’m going to bed. Wake me and suffer my wrath.”

After you leave, John looks visibly shaken from the passive aggressive  _ glare _ you sent him only moments before. “They aren’t serious, are they?” He asks Alex.

Alex shrugs in response, “Probably. They actually got stuck in the middle of nowhere and had to walk to the nearest gas station for help. Wouldn’t recommend waking them up.”

John decided to sleep on the couch that night.


End file.
